


These Words

by hope170



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gen, Reader Insert, Self-Insert, Soulmate AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-27
Updated: 2020-03-11
Packaged: 2021-01-04 04:28:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,292
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21191576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hope170/pseuds/hope170
Summary: A soulmate AUEveryone had the words on their wrists, etched in with deep black ink, the first words their soulmate would ever say to them. A lot of people had simple words; “hi”, “sorry”, “how are you”, things of that sort. Others had more interesting phrases.On your wrist were the words, “Stay out of this, flesh bag!”





	1. Chapter 1

Everyone had the words on their wrists, etched in with deep black ink, the first words their soulmate would ever say to them. A lot of people had simple words; “hi”, “sorry”, “how are you”, things of that sort. Others had more interesting phrases. 

You had a friend in middle school who had the first lines of Alexander Hamilton on her wrist. She freaked out when The musical came out and she realized her soulmate would be a theater nerd. Another friend had “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” on his wrist because his soulmate thought it was funny.

On your wrist were the words, “Stay out of this, flesh bag!”

You weren’t really sure how you felt about it. It seemed that your soulmate would hate you. Maybe just at first, maybe forever. It could also just be some stupid thing they said, something they didn’t really mean. But something inside you told you that it wasn’t a good sign.

A part of you didn’t want to meet your soulmate.

\------------------------------------

The day had gone downhill rather quickly. You had only been out for a walk near the far end of town, by the hill with the lighthouse, when the sky suddenly grew dark, the clouds turning pitch black. In the sky, a giant machine of sorts appeared, a menacing presence looming over the town. With an earth-shattering BOOM the machine landed on the hill, plunging a needle deep into the earth. It made the ground below you shake and you stumbled a bit.

When you looked, you could see that boy, Steven, and his gem friends staring up at the machine, talking to something or someone. You probably should leave, call your walk over and go home, but you didn’t. The curiosity was too strong. So, you crept up the hill and towards the commotion. You hid behind one of the spindly legs, peering beyond to where the gems were fighting. It didn’t look like it was going well.

There was a pink gem you didn’t recognize zipping around them with incredible speed. You could barely keep track of where she was! Within moments she had the gems on the ground, groaning in pain as she landed on the top of the lighthouse. They only had a moment before the gem struck again, a pink blur as she whipped around them and there was a slight “poof”. There were three clouds of smoke and a series of soft thuds as the gemstones fell to the ground. Now it was just the pink gem and Steven.

She turned to him, her weapon at the ready and even though you are perfectly aware that Steven can defend himself just fine, you couldn’t just stand by and do nothing. Without a second thought, you jumped out from your hiding spot, running between Steven and the gem. You heard the boy shout something, but didn’t pay him much attention, focusing on the gem before you. 

She was dark, like when bright colors are dimmed on a screen, all except for her eyes. They were a bright magenta with rings of darker pink within. It startled you how much rage and pain you could see in those eyes. You took a half-step back but still refused to back down. She growled at you, dark and menacing.

“Stay out of this, flesh bag!”

You only had time to look on in shock, frozen to the spot, before you felt her fist slam against your head. You were sent flying, falling unconscious before you even hit the ground. The last thing you heard was Steven yelling and a distant puff.

\-----------------------

You came back slowly, mind foggy. It took quite some time for you to remember what happened, and even more time before you could open your eyes. You didn’t recognize the roof above you, nor the surrounding sounds or smells. You groaned, pushing yourself up to sit on what you now recognized to be a couch. You vaguely wondered why your head didn’t actually hurt, nor even a little. 

But before you could think about it much, that boy, Steven, was standing next to you.

“Oh my god, are you okay?! What were you thinking?”

You frowned at him, looking around at the house you now realized must have been his. How did he manage to drag you here?

“I guess I wasn’t thinking all that much.”

Your eyes landed past the boy to the table behind him. All the gems were there. You didn’t know a lot about gems so you couldn’t really guess what they were. There was a white one, a purple one, a blue, and a red. And …

Your eyes landed the pink gem and your heart leaped into your throat. 

“What happened to them?”

Steven sighed, sitting next to you on the couch, his whole body sagging. The poor boy looked tired, worried.

It was then that a man barged in, looking just as worried. He talked to Steven but you didn’t pay much attention to what the two were saying. All you’re attention was on the gem on the table. You wanted to reach out and pick it up, examine every facet, see how the light reflected off the surface, but fear stayed your hand. That wouldn’t be appropriate, would it? You didn’t really know a thing about gems even though he had seen plenty of them around town. Were they dead? No, something inside you said they couldn’t be. Then what were they doing? Would they be back?

You didn’t notice a whole lot of what was going on around you, didn’t really care what the strangers sitting next to you were saying. The only thing you did notice was when one of the gems, the white one, began to glow and float. You had never seen a gem reform before and found yourself entranced as a shell formed around the gem. Then it floated to the middle of the room, a bright light forming a gem. You recognized her from the fight on the hill, but she looked different. She had a different outfit on, though that might be normal for a gem when they reformed. 

Based on the reaction from Steven and the Man, who you had guessed was the boy’s father based on what little conversation you had paid attention to, something was wrong. The gem, they called her Pearl, started to sing, which was actually quite helpful when the other gems started to form. There was the Ruby, Sapphire, and Amethyst. You stopped paying attention when the Amethyst formed, looking instead at the pink gem that still laid on the table. You wondered what gem she was. 

You didn’t have to wait long before the heart-shaped gem began to glow and float, just like the others. You heard Steven shout something, but didn’t really pay him any mind. Even before the gem had fully formed she started to giggle. It was an infectious laugh, one filled with pure happiness. You couldn’t help but smile, suppressing your own giggle. Noodle like arms snapped forward, wrapping around Steven as the gem jumped on top of him, knocking him over.

“I’m so excited to meet you!”

And for a moment, you wished she had said that to you. But no, she was talking to Steven. 

Her name was Spinel, and she was Steven’s new best friend. It hurt more than you cared to admit. Shouldn’t your soulmate be your best friend? You shook your head. No, that’s not how that worked. You didn’t even know each other yet and gems worked differently. You were sure you could get there someday.

You followed the group around, trying to stay close to Spinel and the more time you spent with her the more concerned you became. She was so happy, innocent, and oblivious. Every time you watched her you couldn’t help but frown, remembering the way she was just that morning, dark and broken, and just knowing that there would be a fall out when she remembered whatever had hurt her the first time. You could only hope that you would be there to help her, even if you didn’t really know how you could do that. 

They were on their way to Little Homeworld, that Gem town just outside of Beach City, when you finally got a chance to actually talk to her. Too much was going on before and the last thing you wanted was to get in anybody’s way, but now you were just walking through the gem town, looking for Steven’s friends. You saw the happy pink gem finally let go of Steven’s arm, dropping back to stand right next to you, though that was clearly unintentional. She was staring at something on her wrist, closely examining the words that were etched there in black ink, brows knitted together in confusion. 

“Hey, you doing okay?”

She jumped slightly at the sound of your voice, looking up at you with one of her beautiful, dazzling smiles.

“Yeah! I’m just looking at these words.”

She showed you her wrist and you could see the phrase written out in tidy and neat handwriting. 

_ Hey, you doing okay? _

You smiled softly at the words, trying hard not to snicker. The gem took her arm back, looking at the words, then back up at you. 

“What do they mean?”

And God, she looked so cute, looking up at you with her head tilted in curiosity, eyes wide as she waited for an answer.

“Those are the first words your soulmate will ever say to you.”

She nodded at that, looking thoughtful for a moment before asking her next question.

“What’s a soulmate?”

Now it was your turn to look thoughtful, thinking over how best to explain the concept. 

“A soulmate is the most important person you will ever meet. They’re the one person you can trust the most and who will be your best friend no matter what. They’re the one who will stick with through the good times and the bad times, the one you will have a special connection with.”

She tilted her head again.

“A best friend?” You nodded. “Like Steven!”

You looked at the boy who walked in front of you, trying not to frown. The boy had been very dismissive of the pink gem, looking uncomfortable anytime she had gotten close and trying unsuccessfully to shake her off. She may have been made to be his best friend or something of the sort, but he clearly didn’t feel the same. You tried not to sigh.

“Maybe even a better friend than Steven.”

Her eyes grew wide at that and you swear you could see them sparkle. Then she squinted at you, staring rather intensely. 

“These are the first words you ever said to me…” She said, getting closer. “Maybe you’re my bestest best friend!”

“Yeah, I could be.”

“Can I see your wrist.”

She frowned at the words she found there.

“Wow, that’s kind of mean. Does your soulmate hate you?”

“No, I don’t think she hates me. She’s probably just angry. I think something must have happened to her that hurt her a lot so she lashes out a lot at others to try to make herself feel better.”

“Oh … well, I guess we’re not soulmates. But I’ll meet them someday, right?”

All you could do was nod and watch her as she skipped away, clinging to Steven once more. Once she was gone you didn’t need to hide the frown that forced itself onto your face. 


	2. Chapter 2

There was a chance that the gems could get their memory back.

It was Spinel’s idea (smart and cute) and, for one amazing second, you let yourself hope, but that second didn’t last long. You needed all of the gems pieces, all of the most important parts of her life, and you didn’t know a thing about her! And what would happen when she did get her memory back? A part of you didn’t want her to remember, didn’t want her to feel whatever pain had caused her to change so drastically. You just didn’t want her to hurt again.

You were thinking about that when the saw came out. It seemed a bit extreme but Steven had said something about Ruby saving Sapphire or something so you just stood with everyone else and watched as Steven approached with the saw. Spinel squirmed through the group to stand next to you, clutching at your arm as she watched Steven curiously. 

You weren’t surprised when Steven couldn’t go through with it. The saw clattered to the ground, the boy slinking back to the group to figure something else out.

You paid him no attention because Spinel had just left. The panic hit you like a brick wall when you saw her leave the group and pick that stupid saw up. 

“Spinel, no!”

You ran towards her, but she had already turned it on. She was clearly unable to control the thing, both the gem and the saw shaking uncontrollably. You managed to snatch the gem up before she nearly chopped herself in half, the both of you watching as the saw went off towards the nearest building. It was difficult to track everything that happened over the next couple of minutes so you simply backed away and watched as chaos ensued. 

You heard the smaller gem still held in your arms gasp when the anvil fell, burying her head into your chest. You held her their protectively, trying to reassure her even as it looked like a gem was about to be shattered. Thankfully, no one was hurt. Steven stopped the anvil with his shield and, just as it was about to shatter, Sapphire shoved Ruby out of the way. And somehow the two merged into something, someone else.

Spinel shifted, looking back to see what had happened and you were far too distracted to stop her. It’s not like you’ve ever seen people suddenly merge into one before. But even when the gem shifted, she didn’t pull away. If anything she tried to scoot closer to you. That small action was all it took for your heart to feel like it was about to explode. You could feel warmth spread across your face when she looked up to, an expression of pure relief on her face.

“Thank you! That was really close.”

You cleared your throat, looking away from her before your hair caught on fire or something and over to the other gems. It looked like Steven was trying to talk to the fused gem but she seemed to not be all that interested.

“Looks like no one got hurt.”

Spinel nodded, big smile still plastered onto her face. Then she finally did pull away, skipping back to her spot at Steven’s side. You watched as she left, feeling empty without her near you. After a moment you followed her. 

Out of nowhere, a van showed up, slamming to a stop nearby. You jumped at the sudden appearance, making Spinel giggle. Pearl came out first, giving way too much fanfare before Steven’s Dad came rushing out. Apparently, he had managed to lose a gem … somehow. Steven had to go find her, and as he was trying to leave Spinel ran after him.

They were too far away to make out any words, but it looked like Steven was trying to leave the pink gem behind. You visibly flinched when she snapped back and Steven was forced to take her with.

Leaving you alone with a group of strangers. A group of strangers who were starting to look at you. You forced a smile and gave a little wave, shoulders hunching unconsciously in an attempt to make yourself look smaller. Of course, it didn’t work, and a large gem was coming right for you.

“I don’t believe we’ve met,” she said, extending one massive hand. “Name’s Bismuth.”

“Uh … Y/N.”

Her hand engulfed yours easily and when she shook she nearly shook the bones out of your body. You were relieved when she finally let go, a big smile on her face. 

“What’s brought you into all this mess.”

You looked away, rubbing absently at your arm.

“Oh, you know, just random events, I guess.” 

“Well, if there’s was any a time to get yourself out before things got too bad, it’d be now.” She winked as if sharing some sort of secret. You just frowned, upset at the very idea of leaving.

“I can’t.”

The gem looked confused.

“Really? Look, I was trying to be subtle, but this gem stuff can get pretty dangerous, especially for humans. You’re probably better of just going home now.”

You looked down at your shoes, trying not to get angry. She was just trying to help, after all. There was no use in getting angry.

“I said, I can’t. I need to see this thing through.”

There was a pause, everyone staring at you. Your skin itched.

“Why?” said a green gem. Everyone else gave her some nasty looks. “What? It doesn’t make sense! They don’t even know anyone here!”

Your frown deepened and you sighed.

“Spinel is my soulmate.”

There was a shocked silence, stretching out far too long. It was too much for you and you just walked away. The last thing you needed was to see their looks of pity.


	3. Chapter 3

The gems didn’t try to talk to you again, at least for a while, and you were just fine with that. You still had a lot to think about, with the whole finally finding your soulmate thing. Now was the perfect time for everything to come crashing down on you all at once. You sat with a thud on a patch of grass, suddenly overwhelmed. For a while, you had settled with the idea of never finding your soulmate. Now, not only did you have one now, but she barely even looked your way. She was involved in something big, much bigger than yourself, and she had clearly gone through a lot. 

Where did that put you? Even if she did regain her memories, why would she want to spend time with some random human? And even if she did stick around, how were supposed to help with any of this?

You groaned burying your head in your knees. Your head felt like it was about to explode. You felt so helpless.

Eventually, Steven’s dad came over, sitting down next to you with a huff. For a moment, he didn’t say anything. 

“How ya feeling there?”

You groaned.

“Not good.”

“Figured as much.”

You sighed, stretching your legs once in front of you and staring intently at your shoes.

“I don’t know what to do. There’s just too much going on and not a whole lot I can do, ya know?”

The man chuckled at that.

“Oh, I know. Trust me, I know. Surrounded by all these gems, there’s little some humans can do. Luckily for you, something I can do is give some advice if you want it.” 

Man, this guy was radiating some strong father vibes. You relaxed a bit as you looked up at him, then sighed.

“Alright, shoot.”

“Focus on one problem at a time, okay? And even when you can’t do anything, just be there.”

You stayed silent, thinking over his words. Then you smiled, a small uncertain smile, but a smile.

“Thanks.”

“No problem, kiddo. I’m Greg by the way.”

You shook hands and the two of you went back to the others. You ended up grabbing the fused gem, Garnet, and Pearl and head to his storage locker. Apparently, there was supposed to be a concert that night for a band Greg managed and he was insistent that he prepare, even with the giant injector looming over the town, turning the hill grey. So, you helped. There wasn’t exactly a whole lot else you could do till the others came back with Spinel.

As the afternoon passed you began to miss her smile, even if it wasn’t at you.

It was around sunset that you finally saw the group again, riding in on a giant pink lion. Greg went to talk to them, but you hung back, watching Spinel as she split away from the group and came right for you.

“Hey, Y/N!” she said in a sing-song voice. 

“Hi, Spins. Have a fun time?”

She giggled, clinging onto your arm with that beautiful smile on her face.

“Yep! Steven and I went all over the place! But … I don’t know, I guess I kinda missed you.” She looked away, face turning a slightly darker shade of pink. Your heart swelled and you couldn’t stop the smile from spreading on your face. 

“I kinda missed you too, goofball.”

She looked completed surprised before the smile returned to her face.

“Really? Does that mean we’re friends?”

“Of course we are!”

She gave a squeal of glee, wrapping her arms around and around you in a tight hug, making you chuckle. 

Then there was a crash, drawing the gem’s attention away from you. It looked like Garnet had fallen over in the locker, tangled up in a mess of blue and red wires. And wow, Greg seemed so stress after having to deal with these gems all afternoon. And Steven was even more stressed! 

Ultimately it all came down to trying to get Pearl’s memories back, and they decided the best way to do that would be taking her to the concert. So, they continued with the preparations and headed down to the giant warehouse that served as an evacuation spot. It was a decently long walk but that wasn’t really an issue for you, not when Spinel still clung onto your arm, talking with you and making you smile.

“What’s a concert?”

“It’s something humans do where a group of people play some music on a stage and everyone just has a lot of fun listening.”

“Really? I like music! Singing is a lot of fun. Do you like singing.”

“Sometimes. I mostly only sing when I’m working alone.”

She frowned at that.

“Only when you’re alone?”

You nodded.

“Yep. I’m not a very good singer and I don’t really like bothering people.”

“Why would singing bother anyone? That doesn’t make any sense, silly!” You just shrugged. “Do you at least dance with other people?”

“Yeah, when I’m in the mood. I’ll probably dance at the concert a bit.”

The gem’s eyes grew wide and she scooted closer till her face was pressed against your shoulder, big, dark eyes peering up at you. You chuckled.

“What?”

“Will you dance with me?” She said it in a quiet little voice and damn was she cute. How could you possibly say no to that face?  
“Of course I will, you just gotta ask!”

She beamed at you, eyes sparkling, and jumped up and down beside you.

“This concert is going to be so much fun! Do you think Steven will like it.”

You tried not to wince.

“I don’t know. I don’t really know Steven that well.”

She looked confused by that, brow furrowed.

“You don’t? Then why are you spending so much time with us? Is it someone else?”

You hummed, deep in thought, then smiled as an idea struck.

“You know what? Let’s make it a game. There’s one person that’s keeping me around. If you can guess who it is, you win!”

“Oooooh, I”m good at games! I betcha I’ll win real fast!” Then she went quiet as she thought it through, her tongue sticking out a bit as her brain worked. “Is it Garnet? She’s really nice, you could be friends!”

I shook my head, smiling.

“Ah, okay. Maybe … Amethyst?”

“Nope.”

She guessed a few more times before they reached the warehouse; Pearl, Greg, or maybe the lion? But no, none of those were it. She looked upset for only a moment but cheered right back up when they arrived, going on about the concert. 

It took some time to set everything up. You couldn’t help much since you didn’t know anything about setting up for a concert. All those wires and speakers just confused you, so you spent your time with Spinel instead. Steven looked pretty grateful to have the excitable gem distracted and away from the stage. He shot you a look and you just nodded in return.

Spinel actually knew quite a few games they could play, none of which you had heard of before. Of course, that made sense she was an alien from a different planet. They’re bound to have different games. You even taught her some human games, all of which she was more than eager to learn and quickly grew better than you at. But as time passed and the building was filled with more and more bodies, both human and gems, they had fewer games they could play till all they could do was attempt to talk to each other over the din of all the other voices.

You watched the gem closely when the lights began to dim and the music started. She lit up with the first notes, bouncing by the stage, eyes glued to the lead singer as she announced the beginning of the concert and got everyone hyped.

Before you knew what was going on, the bright gem had grabbed your arms, twirling you around to the music. Her laugh sounded like starlight and you found yourself laughing along, happily dancing with her. She was right, this was a lot of fun, more fun then you had had in a very long time. You didn’t even care about the people around you or what they might think. All that mattered was the gem in front of you and just how happy she was in that moment. 

You only stopped when something drew Spinel’s attention away from you. It looked like Amethyst had shapeshifted into someone else, someone you didn’t recognize but caught the attention of some of the gems around you. Spinel didn’t seem to recognize whoever it was, but she remained slightly curious, hand holding yours tight. 

The song ended and Amethyst shifted back. You could see the group talking amongst each other, but decided to instead focus on the singer who was once again trying to pump the crowd up. But they didn’t sing another song. Instead, Steven and Greg went on stage with some guitars. You had to admit, you were pretty interested to see where this was going and was truly surprised when they did that fusion thing again like what Garnet did. Wasn’t that a gem thing? You thought Greg was human, or could they do that because Steven was half-gem and half-human? 

You didn’t have a whole lot of time to think about it, because the moment the light faded Pearl was panicking and, more importantly, Spinel was upset, yelling for Steven like he wasn’t even there anymore. And maybe he wasn’t? You didn’t know, but that didn’t really matter right now.

“Spinel are you okay?” And you could hear the Steven/Greg fusion singing but paid it little attention, because even though Spinel smiled at you it didn’t reach her eyes, frantic eyes that couldn’t stay on one thing, searching for someone who didn’t give two craps about her. Your heart fell.

She never did answer you. 

Your hand tightened around hers but she didn’t respond.

“Spinel?”

And the song was ending and she wouldn’t even glance at you, eyes fixated on the stage. You could see the confusion, the pain, and the tears that began to well up. 

And then she was gone, running through the crowd and out of sight in a moment. You didn’t hesitate.

You ran after her.


	4. Chapter 4

Your legs ached and breathing was painfully, but there is no way that was going to stop you from following close behind the pink gem through the small town. She was very fast, most definitely faster than you, but you were still close enough to see it when she ran into Steven’s house.

You were gasping for breath when you finally reached her. The gem was crouching over the warp pad, hands pulling at her hair.

“Spinel?”

She turned to you, tears bubbling up in her eyes and pouring down her face like waterfalls. You were by her side in an instant, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. She leaned into your touch, sniffling into your shoulder.

“Are you okay?”

She shook her head. 

“I-I just started getting these feelings flooding back to me.”

“That’s good!”

You glared at the source of the voice. Steven had followed you and was standing in the doorway, looked quite exhausted and happy.

“I need you to remember, otherwise something bad is going to happen to my home.”

“Steven …”

The boy ignored your warning, walking up to the two of you and kneeling on Spinel’s other side. The gem turned away from him, burying her head back into your shoulder. You could feel the hot tears soaking into your shirt, but you didn’t care. All you cared about was comforting the sad gem, and Steven was not helping, not the least.

“Please, think!” Steven said, putting a hand on the gem’s shoulder. “Do you remember the garden?”

Spinel stiffened in your arms, looking up and into the distance as if seeing something you couldn’t.

“The garden…?”

“Is anything coming back to you?”

You watched as she smiled about something, something she must be remembering, but then it fell once more. 

“No!” she shouted, slamming her fists on the war pad below them. In an instant, they were surrounded by sparkling light, bodies floating, then flying. A startled yelp got stuck in your throat as you felt your stomach drop at the sudden change. 

“Where are we going?” You could hear Steven yelling.

A pink gloved hand grabbed yours and you looked up to see Spinel, eyes still shining with tears, the harsh light making her look bleached and tired. 

“Back ... to where I never left.” 

Your stomach dropped again when you landed and gravity suddenly returned. You stumbled a bit, but Spinel was there to hold you steady, a soft smile on her face before it dropped and she looked out over the decrepit garden you found yourselves standing in. All around you were the dead, withered husks of plants, decaying vines clinging to the crumbling stone columns and pavement. At the center was a dry, mostly intact fountain.

Spinel gasped as the memories hit her and walked further into the garden, dragging you along with her, refusing to let go of your hand even as she looked a thousand miles away, a dreamy look on her face. 

“This… was our garden,” she said in a soft voice. A glimmer of her usual bright self shone through for a moment, a happy smile gracing her face. “A special world built just for Pink and I. On Homeworld, Pink was so lonely and sad, but not here! Here, we would play for hours. Every day was so much fun!” And once more the smile was wiped from her face, her hand tightening around your own. “At least, that’s what I thought…”

“What happened?” You only gave Steven a glance when he spoke up, not quite able to muster the energy to be angry at him anymore. You felt that it was more important to make sure you were there for Spinel. 

“Pink wanted a colony more than anything and one day her wish came true! Blue and Yellow gave Pink her very own planet, Earth. I was so excited! A brand new place to play!”

This time your hand tightened around hers. You had a feeling you knew where this was going. 

“Why didn’t she take you with her?” Steven asked, and at least he was pretending to care.

Spinel leaned into you, dragging you around the garden as she told the story, face growing more and more pained as the memories came back. Pink told her they were playing a game, and Spinel really did enjoy playing games, especially with Pink. It’s like she said before, she’s really good at games! And all she had to do was stand there perfectly still till her best friend came back. She looked wistful, staring at nothing as she spoke of how the Diamond had smiled at her, the one thing she wanted more than anything, before turning away. So she waited in that garden, perfectly still, knowing her friend would be back for her. She was perfectly happy to play.

Time passed. Then a lot of time passed. Years went by and she was still standing there, waiting, believing her friend would return for her. But the doubts began to sink their claws into her thoughts. What was taking so long? This was how the game worked, wasn’t it? Was she doing it right? But no matter what doubts flashed through her mind, she kept insisting, no, Pink would be back, she just had to wait a little longer.

She never came back.

Spinel didn’t even realize she had been abandoned till the communicator had activated, glitching after so many years being untouched by anyone. That’s when she finally heard about what had happened. Pink wasn’t coming back. She didn’t even exist anymore. 

And that’s when she first saw Steven, smiling, so happy as he talked about going home to his friends. 

Friends that had been Pink’s.

Friends that had replaced her.

It hurt. It hurt so much she couldn’t stand it. 

Spinel finished telling her story in that spot in front of the communicator where she had received the news less than a day ago. The pain came flooding back, no less painful than the first time. It startled you when she started glowing bright but you refused to move, keeping a hold on her arm even as her form shifted and the pain changed her. You knew this was coming, knew it was only a matter of time and had prepared as much as you could expect to. You weren’t going to leave her side, no matter what.

A moment later the light faded, leaving the Spinel you had first met, the angry and hurt gem that had attacked you. You knew so much more now.  
She didn’t move, just glared at the ground, body stiff and motionless. You could hear Steven talking behind you, your annoyance spiking once more at the sound of his voice. God, you needed a nap or something, you weren’t usually this annoyed by people.

“Spinel! You’ve got your memories back! I can’t believe Mom would do that to you… Actually, I can totally believe that. You’re not the only one she hurt.”

You could feel the gem next to you almost vibrate with a sudden wave of anger, spinning around on her heels and growling. You only barely managed to keep a hold on her arm, trying to comfort her just by being there. 

“Yeah, you must know all about her life without me! Rub it in why dontcha!” She shouted loudly and you were sure she was about to punch him. You could feel her arm tense under your grip, but you managed to keep her back.

“Steven, can you just wait by the warp pad or something.” You snapped at him.

“What? No, we can talk!”

“Please, just leave us be for a second. I’ll talk to her. We’ll meet you there.“

“But…” 

“We’ll meet. You. There.”

He still looked unsure, gazing shifting between the two of you and the warp pad. Finally, he gave in and shuffled away.

It was only when he was well out of earshot that Spinel seemed to break, collapsing to the ground with a sob. You managed to catch her, lowering her gently and cradling her in your arms. It hurt so much just to see how much pain she was in. 

“What’ve I done?” She whimpered, tears running hot down her face. You didn’t really know what to say, so you just held her tighter. She buried her head in your shoulder, shaking with emotion, clinging tightly to your shirt. All you could do was be there, rubbing circles into her back, whispering reassurances that didn’t seem to reach her. Once she had calmed enough, she started mumbling. 

“I’m sorry. I messed up. I messed up bad I’m so sorry so sorry please forgive me please I’m sorry.”

“Hey, hey, it’s okay hun, just breath, okay?”

You heard the air whistle past her teeth as she took a deep breath in, shivering in your arms. 

“You need to tell me, specifically, what you’re sorry for so we can talk through it, okay?”

She sobbed, emotions spiking but you managed to calm her again. But even then she shook her head, refusing to speak. You hummed, placing a gentle kiss on the top of her head.

“It’s okay, I’m not going anywhere, you can talk to me.”

“... ya sure?”

“Positive. Please, talk to me.”

Spinel sighed, grip tightening for a moment before she let go, pulling away from you and rubbing the tears from her eyes.

“Good, now, just tell me what you’re upset about, we can talk through it and you’ll feel a lot better.”

She still looked uncertain but nodded anyway, taking another deep breath to prepare herself.

“I just … I hurt you.” Her face scrunched up as she tried not to cry again. You took her face in your hands, brushing the tears that managed to squeeze through away with your thumbs. She leaned into your touch, more tears cascading down her face.

“You’re my soulmate and I hit you. I hurt cha’ bad. I could’ve lost you right there and then and it would’ve all been my own stupid fault.” She hiccupped, burying her head in your chest. You took the pause in the conversation to think for a moment. You sighed.

“Oh, sweetheart, I never held that against you, not for a moment.”

She turned her tear-streaked face to you, looking confused.

“W-what? But why?!”

You just shrugged.

“You weren’t in your right mind. But you are now, or at least you’re better.” You paused for a moment to think. “Everyone’s capable of making better decisions. Sometimes it can be hard, but it helps when there’s someone else helping you along.” 

She looked doubtful, shaking her head.

“I don’t think that mattas.” 

“Mmmm. And why not?”

She stayed silent, not looking away when you tried to catch her eye. You were starting to think she wasn’t going to answer when she did speak up, if only in a whisper. 

“I don’t think I can forgive myself.”

“Well, I can’t really help you with that, but I’ll do what I can.”

You nearly jumped when the gem laughed, low and cold, broken. 

“Right, like you’re going to stay.”

It was your turn to laugh, making the gem jump in your arms.

“Oh sweetheart, I’m not going anywhere.”


	5. Chapter 5

Steven ran ahead of you, spouting something about telling the gems. You just watched him go, still trying to recover from the warp. Everything swirling around you like that, that weightless feeling, it was nauseating to you and you needed time to steady yourself. 

And Spinel was there by your side, looking concerned as she grabbed your arm and helped ground you. You smiled at her in thanks and she smiled back, the same joy-filled smile she had when you played games together or danced at the concert. It made your heart swell and you were hit with just how much you loved her.

The moment was a short one, but it would be one you remembered. You hated the moment Spinel took her eyes off you, hiding that smile of hers, but you just moved on. 

As you walked through the house, making your way to the first floor, you could feel Spinel’s grip on you arm tighten ever so slightly. You could see the anxiety on her face, eyes wide with panic and body tense. It wasn’t difficult to figure out why. No one would be comfortable having to face the gems after trying to destroy the Earth.

You made her stop for a moment, squeezing the hand that gripped your arm gently and placing a kiss on her forehead. She melted into your touch, sighing contently.

“Don’t worry, they’re not going to hurt you. I’ll make sure of it.”

She chuckled.

“Please, there’s not a whole lot you can do. You’re just a human.”

“Yeah, but that still makes me a pretty good shield.”

She looked doubtful at that.

“I’m serious! I’ve lived here for a while, I know the Crystal Gems. They’re not about to hurt a human, that goes against their whole… “protect the earth” deal.” 

She looked away from you again, taking a deep breath.

“Okay, I trust you.”

You nodded, leading her down the stairs.

Luckily, Steven managed to warn everyone so when you got downstairs there was no freakout or anything. The calm managed to help Spinel, her shoulders drooping slightly as the tension left them. 

Garnet bounced up to them, not seeming to notice the atmosphere in the room.

“Spinel! Did you do something with your hair?”

There was a small smile on Spinel’s face, but before she could respond you spoke.

“She did! Isn’t it cute?”

Spinel froze, face heating up at the compliment, eyes giving you an odd look, one of embarrassment, anger, and something else. You just smiled back and for a moment she was surprised by how genuine you looked, without a bit of mockery. You really meant it. That only made her blush harder. Garnet giggled, nodding happily.

They were interrupted by Steven.

“Hey, uh, can I ask for your help?”

\--------------------------------------------

You recognized the gems that still hung out around the injector, though you couldn’t for the life of you remember their names. As you approached, Spinel took to huddling behind you, grasping your elbow for support. It made you feel protective. You wanted to protect her from the harsh looks when the gems spotted your group and the careless words that were tossed her way. Of course, there really was little you could do but be there.

Then Steven said that Spinel was there to help and motioned for her over. She hesitated, looking up to you for encouragement with those beautiful pink eyes of hers. You nodded, a soft smile on your face, and she nodded back, a look of determination on her face. She let you go, walking up to her injector and blowing her horn. The ground shook as the injector lifted out of the ground, leaving a giant crater where it had once been. 

Immediately, the air shifted as relief washed over everyone present. You could see the gems visibly relax and Steven looked like he was about to collapse from exhaustion. You couldn’t blame him, you were pretty tired yourself. You weren’t use to staying up so long without sleep and you felt like your legs were going to give out below you. You wanted nothing more than to go home and crash.

But there were more important things to deal with.

Steven was thanking Spinel and she looked pretty happy with herself. But then Steven turned his back on her and her face dropped. You walked over to her, but didn’t get their fast enough. Steven was already saying something stupid, something about everything going back to how it was before Spinel showed up. You could see the fear filling her face and why did you have to be so slow? Why did your exhaustion have to take over right now?

“How you gonna forget with me around? I’m the source of all of your problems! Don’t pretend you want me here. What’s your plan for me, huh? You gonna put me somewhere? You gonna leave me somewhere? You gonna leave me alone?”

As she spoke she got more and more wound up, her hands shaking and clutching at her chest. Finally, you reached her side, putting a hand on her shoulder, but she ignored you, too caught up in her own head.

“Spinel …” Steven tried approaching and before you could tell him off Spinel shoved him away. He fell hard, something falling out of his pocket and bouncing along the ground. 

“Spinel, hun, please look at me?”

But she wouldn’t. Her eyes were locked on Steven, who now had a scythe-like weapon in his hand, one you recognized. Spinel had it when she was fighting the gems just yesterday. 

“Why do you … have that?”

You could see her mind working, coming to some sort of conclusion even as Steven stuttered out an excuse. 

“I- I was just carrying it! I didn’t have anywhere else to put it!”

“We can just forget this ever happened.” Spinel said, voice low and dangerous. “You mean I can forget this ever happened!”

And she laughed, cold and hysterical and you knew what she meant. That must have caused the gem’s memory loss, and now Steven was facing Spinel with it and he wasn’t putting it down. 

You stood in front of Spinel, physically blocking her view of Steven and the weapon and she finally, finally looked at you, eyes filled with anger and hurt. And something told you she wasn’t going to listen but you talked anyways. What else could you do?

“Please, Spinel, listen to me! I’m not going to let anyone hurt you.”

She growled, shoving you away and making you stumble. 

“Just shut it!” She yelled, angry, hot tears welling up in her eyes. “You can’t tell me you wouldn’t do the same thing if you had the chance, but you’re not getting rid of me that easy!”

And with a blow of her horn the injector was moving again. Before you could do anything, someone was grabbing you around the middle and trying to drag you out of the way. You yelped at that, not wanting to leave Spinel even for a moment.

There was a loud BOOM and everything shuttered and you were falling through the cloud of dust and smoke. You hit the ground hard and blacked out.

You woke up what couldn’t have been seconds later, the smoke just starting to clear and your head ringing. You stood on wobbly legs, trying to figure out what was going on. Where was Spinel?

You were in some sort of crater, everything glowing an ominous pink color from the rivers of poison that flowed in the deep cracks across the ground. Not too far away you could see Spinel and Steven, still clutching the scyth, facing against each other. The gem looked absolutely furious. Everything was a bit foggy, but you could still make out what they were saying.

“I’m not letting you get one over on me, Steven Universe!”

“I wasn’t going to wipe your memories, Spinel.”

“You expect me to believe you want me like THIS!” She shouted, stretching her arms out menacingly. You walked forward, standing between Steven and Spinel.

“I do.”

You saw her face soften, her arms lowering ever so slightly. You could see the emotions flash over her face, anger, confusion, sadness, even a little bit of hope. You smiled at her, tired but soft and warm. You took a step forward.

“Steven?” 

You froze, glancing up to the top of the crater where Garnet was peering over to the group.

“Why are you fighting? Aren’t we all friends?”

Spinel’s face hardened once more, a twisted smile spreading on her face.

“Looks like we still got an audience.”

In an instant, her arms snapped out, wrapping around the gem and dragging her down to them.

“How about a front-row seat?”

“Spinel -”

“Garnet!” You heard Steven yell from behind you.

“You know, this is pretty twisted but I’m a little flattered that you liked the old me: innocent, loving, stupid.” She growled that last word, making you wince. “If that’s your thing, why don’t you leave her like this?”

You tried taking another step towards her, but his time she sneered at you, pulling away.

“Let her go!” You heard Steven yell and you saw the anger burn that much brighter in her eyes. 

“Oh, you’re so protective of your real friends and you’re so careless with your fake ones!”

“Stop it!”

“Then stop me! You wanna attack me, just admit it, or better yet, just try it.”

“Spinel please-”

“No!”

“Why not?”

“Because it’s not the truth!”

Your head was spinning, not quite able to keep up with the argument. You heard a loud snap from behind and turned to find that Steven had broken the weapon in half. Then you heard Garnet whisper something and turned that way just in time to see her break free from Spinel’s grip and stood tall over her.

“I’ve known hardships and confusion, but love can live through it all if you face the truth together!”

Then Garnet was glowing, regaining her memories. The light pierced through your head like a lance and you shut your eyes, wincing in pain and stumbling back. You heard Spinel say something and heard a crash. You tried blinking your eyes open, but you still weren’t quite able to figure out what was going on. 

You managed to piece things together well enough when you saw Spinel lunge at Garnet and the fighting began. You were reminded just how fast Spinel was, but this time the gems seemed to be able to match her. They met her every blow and lunge and you really didn’t want to see them fight. Once your head manages to stop spinning and it didn’t feel like it had a spear stuck in it you could actually think over what you were supposed to do. How were you supposed to protect Spinel now? You were no use in a fight, and even if you were you knew that wouldn’t help anything. Damnit, why couldn’t they just stop fighting? How could you get Spinel to stop when she wasn’t listening?

You took a deep breath and stumbled forward blindly into the middle of everything. 

“What’re you doing?!” You heard Spinel yell and in an instant, you felt her arms wrap around you and you were being dragged somewhere, the world rushing past you in a blur. You suddenly stopped, now held tight against the pink gem’s side and you clung to her, your anchor in the chaos that surrounded you. It took another deep breath, calming yourself, and looked into her face. You could see the clash of emotions in her eyes, her hatred for the gem’s clear but there was also worry as she looked up to you. She seemed to make a decision, her face growing hard with determination. She shot one last glare at the gems then jumped.

The world flew by you again and your stomach dropped as you watch the ground fall below you, lower and lower. You clung to the gem tighter.

The two of you landed on top of the injector and you were sure you would’ve fallen if Spinel didn’t have such a tight grip on you your legs were so wobbly. You saw Spinel make her horn again, this one much bigger than any she had made before, and you only just had enough time to cover your ears before she blew into it. It was deafening and your ears rang long after the sound faded.   
You watched in horror as the ground so far below crumbled, large fissures bursting with the pink poison raging through the town. You could only imagine all the people in danger down there. You hoped your friends would be safe. 

Spinel finally let you go and you fell to your knees, tears building in your eyes. You tried not to cry, you really did, but it was all just too much. Your body shook with silent sobs as the tears fell.


	6. Chapter 6

You and Spinel were silent for a very long time. She couldn’t bring herself to even look at you and you were struggling to calm yourself down, to clear your mind enough to think.

Finally, you stood up, wiping the tears away with your sleeve. You took a deep breath, then another. You didn’t need to think about everything going wrong around you, didn’t think you could even comprehend it. You just needed to focus on what you could fix. You turned around.

“Spinel?”

The gem didn’t respond, didn’t even move from her spot, but that was fine. You took several steps forward, stopping in the middle of the crystalline injector top.

“Spinel, I want to help you, but I can’t do anything if you won’t meet me halfway. Please?”

You watched the gem closely, looking for any sign that she heard you, that she was listening. But she didn’t move, still as a statue. The silence weighed down on you. You sighed.

“I love you, more than I probably should after only a day, but… I’m not going anywhere.”

And for a moment nothing changed, but then you saw her shoulders sag, her pigtails drooping and limp. Finally, the gem turned around, looking at you with big, tear-filled eyes. You smiled, stretching your hand out to her. Her eyes flickered between your face and your hand, then, hesitantly, she stepped forward, meeting you in the middle. You smiled wide at her and she gave a small smile back, taking your hand.

“I… I think I love you, too.” Spinel said, voice wavering slightly. “But... “ 

And then a flash of anger crossed her face and she wasn’t looking at you anymore. She growled, pushing past you to glare at someone. You turned, finding a very exhausted looking Steven catching his breath at the edge of the injector. 

“Spinel …” You put a hand on her shoulder, but she shrugged you off with a grunt, all her attention on the teenager in front of her. When he finally caught his breath he walked towards the two of you.

“Spinel, come on. We can talk this out.”

“Just go away! I’m not playing your game anymore!” And she did sound angry, but she also sounded just so tired. Steven’s response was just as angry.

“Spinel, this isn’t a game!”

A loud CRACK sounded and it took you a moment to realize that the angry pink gem had just punched Steven, the poor boy sent sprawling over the injector, dangerously close to the edge. You lurched forward, grabbing her arm before she could swing at him again. She just growled and yanked her arm out of your grip, making you stumble forward a step. And in an instant she had the boy fangling over the edge, her hand holding his arm tight.

“Spinel, no!” You shouted, trying to stumble forward and grab her again, but she shook you off, focused entirely on Steven.

“Ya know, I came here to take my anger out on a bunch of strangers but now that I know you I want ta kill you even more.” She growled the last part, letting her grip loosen on his arm. He yelped, panicking and desperately trying to hold on to nothing. Slowly, she let go of his arm one finger at a time till she was just holding his jacket sleeve with her finger and thumb. You felt the panic bubble up in your chest.

“Look at me!” You shouted at the gem, grabbing her arm once more. And it only took one glance before she was suddenly giving you all of her attention. Her eyes widened suddenly in realization, head spinning back to look at Steven. She growled in frustration, yanking the boy back over the injector and dropping him a bit too harshly. The boy groaned, shoving himself onto his hands and knees and shaking his head.

Spinel was shaking with fury, glaring down at the injector below her feet, hands balled up into fists. You could see the tears starting to fill her eyes, overcome with anger and nothing, or no one, to take it out on, that boiling feeling building up inside of her, trying desperately to keep it inside.

With a loud scream, filled with all the pent up anger and grief she could force into it, she lifted her now larger fists and slammed them down on the injector as hard as she could. The ground below you shuddered and you stumbled and fell, ears filled with the sound of cracking crystal. When you got up you saw the injector top was covered in cracks, from large fissures to hairline fractures. In the middle of it was a crater and in the middle of that was your Spinel, collapsing to her knees and holding herself in a hug. You could see Steven forcing himself to his feet off to the side, frowning and looking like he was mulling something over in his mind, but you couldn’t bring yourself to care.

You went to the crestfallen gem, settling by her side. You reached out, gently resting a hand on her shoulder. In an instant, she had wrapped you in a tight hug, her head buried in your chest and a sob escaping her. Her arms wrapped around your waist over and over, her hands grasping at the fabric of your shirt. You sighed, resting your cheek on her head and rubbing circles into her back, silently comforting her the best you could. 

“What’s wrong with me?” She whimpered, shaking her head back and forth. “Why do I keep doing this? I’m supposed to be a friend. I just want to be a friend...” Her voice was quiet and broken.

You felt like you’re heart was breaking and you buried your face into her hair, your own tears starting to form in your eyes. 

“You can always change. Everyone can change.” 

She shook her head again, a little chuckle escaping from her, far too sad for your liking. 

“No. When I change, I only change for the worse.” She sniffled. “I wasn’t good enough for Pink, and now … Now I’m no good at all.”

You huffed.

“That’s not how I see it.” You pulled away from her, cupping her face in your hands and looking deep into her sad pink eyes, the softest of smiles on your face. She stared back in wonder, taking in all the love she saw in your eyes and her chest filled with a warmth she had never felt before, all her anger and grief melting away 

“I see so much good in you. It’s not your fault Pink left. You’re weren’t broken or not good enough. You’re just as capable to change for the better as anyone else, maybe even more so. I’ve seen just how amazing, kind, and beautiful you are and I know that if she saw what I see she wouldn’t have dared leave you. I know you’re angry and I know you’re hurt and that’s okay. I promise I’ll help you through it and love you the whole time until I get to see you happy again. Then we can be happy together for as long as I live.”

You saw the tears cascade down the gem’s face and she sobbed again, but this time she felt no sadness or anger. In that moment she felt like her gem would burst with all the love and warmth she felt for you. You gave her a kiss on her head, petting her hair and murmuring about just how much you loved.

“I don’t deserve you.” She finally said, chuckling. You chuckled too.

“Hun, I’m exactly what you deserve. We’re soulmates, remember? Your words are on my wrist and everything.”

And she laughed a shaky and genuine laugh, shaking her head.

“Right, like my first words were so loving. What did I say again?”

“Stay out of this, fleshbag.” You informed her with a laugh and she groaned, burying her head back in your chest.

“I was so stupid.”

“Maybe, but it’ll make a pretty good story.”

She snorted at that and was about to reply but was interrupted by an eerie creaking from below. The both of you looked down at the injector, the top beginning to glow bright pink as the cracks widened. You gave each other one final look before the light began too much and you had to close your eyes. You felt her grip on you tighten, holding you close.

In the distance, the people of Beach City could only watch as the injector exploded.


	7. Chapter 7

When you opened your eyes again, you realized that you hadn’t blown up. 

You were still being held in Spinel’s arm but over her shoulder, you could see that everything had a pink tint to it and it felt like you were falling much slower than usual. You weren’t really able to look around properly till you had reached the ground and the bubble around you popped, depositing you onto the ground in a pile. It was only then that the gem loosened her grip on you, looking around, just as confused as you were. 

It was Steven who saved you, you realized. The boy was sitting next to you, looking rather relieved and maybe even a bit less tired. 

“Figured yourself out up there, did you?” You said. He looked a bit sheepish, but before either of you could say anything more Spinel gave a distressed sound. 

“Oh no no no no no. What did I do? I wrecked everything!”

And it really was a mess. Now all that remained of the injector was the larger crater you were in and the pieces of twisted metal. It did look pretty bad.

“Well, that’s … one way to get rid of your injector.”

And it seemed like Steven was more than happy to leave it at that, getting back on his feet to survey the damage.

“But what about the poison? What about the planet? What about your ‘happily ever after’?”

You could see the anxiety crawling back to her and you grabbed her hand, squeezing it. She sighed quietly, her shoulders relaxing.

“There’s no such thing as happily ever after. I’ll always have work to do.” 

It was then that you heard shouting from behind you. It was Steven’s friends and he was quick to leave the two of you behind, reassuring Spinel that he would be right back. You huffed, watching him go. 

You felt all your exhaustion from the last day come back to you all at once and groaned, leaning onto Spinel’s shoulder. The gem giggled a little, wrapping her arm around your shoulders.

“Tired much?” She said, kissing your temple. You sighed.

“Exhausted. I need to go home and get some sleep.”

“Does that help?”

For a moment you were confused, pulling away to look at the gem. Her head was tilted slightly as she waited for your response and you remembered that gems didn’t always understand human stuff.

“Oh, yeah. Humans tend to get tired unless we sleep a certain amount every night.”

Spinel looked thoughtful then rather guilty as she groaned.

“And ya didn’t sleep at all last night.”

“Nope. But it’s not too big of a deal if we miss a night every once in a while.”

That seemed to reassure her a little but she still seemed to look kind of guilty about keeping you up. You giggled, kissing her cheek. You laughed harder when you saw the way she blushed.

You decided you needed to get home about now so you got to your feet, wincing at the pain in your head. That’s right, you hit it pretty hard. Hopefully, you didn’t have a concussion. Spinel stood up, too, clinging onto your arm. You couldn’t stop the smile that spread on your face.

You had found your soulmate! For the longest time you thought you would never find her, but now she was right next to you, looking up at you expectantly with her beautiful, big eyes. An odd warmth filled her chest and you nudged your forehead against hers, smile widening at the little giggle she let out.

“Let’s go home.”

Spinel nodded, her own smile wide. 

“Yeah! Um, where do you live?”

“Technically, not around here. I’m just visiting for the summer. But I’m staying with my Grandma in town until then. Did you … want to come with me?”

Spinel shrugged, giving an exaggerated sigh.

“I guuueeees, since I have nowhere else to be.”

You chuckled at her and she gave you a smile in return. You never could get tired of that sweet smile of hers. The two of you turned to leave and you waved at Steven as you passed the group. He gave you a concerned glance but then shrugged and waved back. You were sure he was just as tired as you were and could let this go for now. It was something he could deal with later on.

The town was deserted, everyone no doubt having been evacuated and it was clear why. There were fissures in the earth all around, buildings toppled over and roads destroyed. The farther away you walked from the injections sight the less damage there was. By the time you reached your grandmother’s house, you could hardly tell anything had happened. You let out a sigh of relief. Your grandma was no doubt safe with the other evacuees and none of her house was damaged.

You opened the front door, greeted by the familiar sight of the living room looking like it came straight from the 1950s. Spinel stuck by your side, looking around the room as you walked through it, eyes wide and brimming with curiosity as she took it all in. It was cute.

You had taken over the guest room in the back of the house. It was quiet there, even more so than the already silent house, and something about familiar sights and smells made you relax, the exhaustion becoming far too much. You collapsed onto the bed, dragging one of your blankets over you and sighing with relief. For a moment, you let your eyes close.

You opened them again to look at Spinel. She was still hovering by the door, looking rather uncertain. She glanced around the small room before looking back at you, fidgeting with her hands and shifting her feet about. 

“Hey.”

Her eyes went back to you and you smiled at her a little. You scooted over on the bed and lifted the blanket.

“Come here.”

For a moment, the gem hesitated, her eyes flickered between the empty spot on the bed and your face, but after a moment she stepped forward, crawling onto the bed next to you. You tucked the blanket around her shoulders and wrapped her your arms around her waist, pulling her close until you could feel the warmth of her gem against your chest. She sighed in response, tucking her head into the crook of your neck and draped an arm across your side. There was a beat of silence.

“What do we do now?”

Spinel asked, voice muffled slightly. You just huffed, closing your eyes.

“I don’t know, hun. But we have time to figure that out. Right now, let’s just rest.”

You felt the gem nod, leaving a kiss against your jaw.

In that moment, you didn’t really care what the next day would bring. You had found her. After so many years and almost giving up, you had found your soulmate. And you knew that, whatever came next, the two of you could handle it. Together. Your grip on the gem tightened as you fell into sleep. Everything was going to be different now and you felt elated, something beyond joy rising in your chest. When you dreamed, you dreamt of her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, I did it! I managed to actually finish one of my stories! I had so much fun writing this and already have some other ideas.
> 
> If you liked my story, why not check out my blog on tumblr? I write more Spinel stuff there so you can get your fix there! You can find me at tumblr.com/blog/spinelwritings
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! <3


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